BIONICLE: Universe III: War of the Worlds
BIONICLE: Universe III: War of the Worlds is the second sequel to BIONICLE: Universe and the third and final installment in the BIONICLE Universe Film Series. It is directed, written, edited and filmed by Scott Pincus. The film is the final installment in the series and concludes the trilogy. Shortly after the events of the second film, Tahu and his allies remake Spherus Magna - but their ultimate victory is short-lived, as the Brotherhood of Makuta launches a full-scale attack on the team and dominates New York City. Tahu and his allies must now fight to save the Earth from its greatest threat. Scott spent several months writing the film's script, as pre-production took place throughout 2012. Unlike the previous films, which were made back-to-back, the third installment was produced on its own. The film aired on YouTube from December 2012 to February 2013, and gained a mixed reception. Plot The film opens with a score of events: a plane carrying O'Neill, Nick Carby, and President Gallagher is hiijacked by terrorists, who supposedly work for Cooper Davidson. They demand Gallagher orders the release of all Makuta captives at the Buffalo Ice Hangar. Spherus Magna is recreated with the Mask of Life, only for Ackar to reveal himself as an ally of the Makuta and kill Malum. Afterwards, Ackar leads a legion of Skrall and Rahkshi to the Toa's base in Philadelphia; they ransack it and kill Kiina and Takanuva. The survivors of the onslaught retreat from the base. Tahu's team returns to Spherus Magna, gathering new allies including Tarix, Lewa, Celus, Sideburn, Tranua, Vakama, Nokama, Lesovikk, Krakua and Perditus. Gordon, Kirk and Jack are brought to a police station in New York to discuss the attack with Nick, Simon Bowler, and his assistants Hector and Ross Malcolm. Tahu's team, with new allies, return to Earth in time to see Makuta and a gigantic ship converging on the city. Brutaka, a titan nearly immune to pain, takes over Teridax's forces and commands them to wreak havoc by destroying various buildings and bridges. Tahu's team begins fighting Makuta across the city. In the conflict, many warriors on both sides are killed, including Vakama, Corrodor and Gordon, while Gresh is injured. A group of "biomechanical heroes" manages to warp the Makuta ship to Spherus Magna, where it is destroyed. A final battle begins in Rockefeller Center, with Tahu's team heavily outmatched. Lewa arrives with the Axalara T9, providing backup for everyone else, although Perditus's Thornatus is hiijacked. This results in a chase that ends with the destruction of the Axalara, Thornatus and Kaxium cycles. Teridax confronts Brutaka, attempting to regain command, but is decapitated. As the final battle ensues, more warriors on both sides are killed, including Ackar, Vapron, Tridax and many others. Tahu goes off to face Brutaka for a second time, and despite being severely injured himself, he narrowly manages to kill him after removing his Mask of Immunity. After the Brotherhood's defeat, the survivors of the battle return to Spherus Magna, where Tahu reflects on their journey before turning to the Arena and remarking that their new journey begins where it all began. Characters All of the surviving humans and members of Tahu's team returned in the film. New characters include Tarix, Krakua, Gali, Lesovikk, Nokama, Vakama, Lewa and Perditus. Celus leads a team consisting of warriors Sideburn and Tranua. New human characters include an assisstant to Bowler named Ross Malcolm, three terrorists and several of Kirk's friends. Rezzle, Jon Stokin, and Nektann, characters from BIONICLE: Universe, also return, as well as the surviving Makuta from the second film. Brutaka serves as the film's main antagonist. Reception The film has gained a mixed reaction, with a rating of 55% based on 63 likes and 50 dislikes. Criticism has mainly gone out toward the animation and plot, although in some cases it has been praised as being the best out of the three BIONICLE Universe films. In addition to that, the film is also the most viewed BIONICLE Universe film, with the full movie having gained over 70,000 views as of July 2015. The views have been climbing since the full movie's release. Despite the success with the views, the film is the least successful installment in the series critically. Production The film was planned to be released in either late-2011 or early-2012, but due to the extended production of the first two films, filming never began. On February 22, Scott asked for auditions of people voicing a character in the film, but on July 9 decided against including voice acting. On March 18, the film's first trailer was released, featuring a prototype of Brutaka. On November 22, the film's second trailer was released. It featured an encounter with Tahu and Brutaka during the Core War, in which Tahu appeared in his original BIONICLE: Universe ''form. Editing began on December 8, and the film began airing on YouTube on December 11. Filming was halfway-complete by that point, and it wrapped on December 30. On January 31, 2013, the final part of the movie was uploaded to YouTube, concluding the series. The film set the record for being Scott's longest film yet, at 143 minutes. A full version of the film was released in early-February. ''BIONICLE: Universe III was released to a mixed reception. Sequel A fourth film, BIONICLE Universe: Lost Chroniclers, was in development for some time but was ultimately cancelled. In 2018, almost six years after the third film, Scott filmed a BIONICLE cameo for Ninjago: Age of the Golden Master, featuring several characters from the BIONICLE Universe trilogy. Trivia *A deleted scene from the film features the Brotherhood of Makuta warship being teleported to the Black Spike Mountains on Spherus Magna, where it's destroyed and Stormer meets his end. The scene was shot at a nearby park, where Scott climbed atop a 15 foot pile of snow and shot the scene. It ultimately wasn't used in the film. Category:BIONICLE: Universe III: War of the Worlds Category:BIONICLE: Universe Film Series Category:2012 Storyline Category:2013 Storyline Category:Films Category:Final Installments